Community Health Patient Navigator

Christiana Care Health System; Wilmington (DE); On-site; USD 36,000 - 54,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Full Medical, Dental, Vision, Life

403(b) with company contributions

Generous PTO with rollover

12-week paid parental leave

Care@Work backup care and wellness per

Discounts on hotels, cars, parks, and🎟

Job summary

ChristianaCare in Delaware is seeking a Patient Navigator to guide patients through defined health care pathways, coordinate appointments, and address barriers to care. The role supports timely completion of pathway steps and seamless transitions to ongoing services or programs.

Responsibilities include reviewing referrals, orienting patients, coordinating scheduling, tracking milestones, and escalating barriers per protocol.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED required.
• Associate or bachelor's degree in public health, health services, social services, health education, or related field preferred.
• Minimum of one year of experience in patient navigation, healthcare access, referral coordination, scheduling, or care coordination support preferred.
• Experience working with diverse, underserved, or medically complex populations preferred.
• Experience using electronic health records, referral platforms, scheduling systems, or pathway tracking tools preferred.

Responsibilities

• Receive and review referrals for assigned clinical pathways and confirm eligibility.
• Orient patients and families to the pathway, its purpose, steps, responsibilities, and contacts.
• Guide patients through required appointments, tests, procedures, referrals, and milestones.
• Coordinate pathway-specific scheduling, reminders, preparation instructions, records, forms, and handoffs.
• Track patient status against milestones and follow up on missed or delayed steps.
• Identify barriers (transportation, language, scheduling, tech, documents) and connect to resources.
• Communicate pathway status and exceptions to the clinical/operational team per escalation protocols.
• Support closed-loop referrals by confirming receipt, scheduling, completion, or disposition.
• Provide pathway information and reinforce clinician-established instructions without providing new medical education.

Skills

Patient navigation

Healthcare access

Referral coordination

Scheduling

Care coordination

Education

High school diploma or GED

Public health degree preferred

Job description

Job Details

ChristianaCare is one of the country's most dynamic healthcare organizations, centered on improving health outcomes, making high-quality care more accessible, and lowering healthcare costs. ChristianaCare includes an extensive network of outpatient services, home health care, urgent care centers, three hospitals (1,299 beds), a free-standing emergency department, a Level I trauma center and a Level III neonatal intensive care unit, a comprehensive stroke center and regional centers of excellence in heart and vascular care, cancer care, and women's health. It also includes the pioneering Gene Editing Institute and was rated by IDG Computerworld as one of the nation's Best Places to Work in IT. ChristianaCare is a nonprofit teaching health system with more than 260 residents and fellows. It is continually ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the Best Hospital. With the unique CareVio data-powered care coordination service and a focus on population health and value-based care, ChristianaCare is shaping the future of health care.

ChristianaCare Offers

• Full Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, etc.
• Two retirement planning offerings, including 403(b) with company contributions
• Generous paid time off with annual roll-over and opportunities to cash out
• 12-week paid parental leave
• Incredible Work/Life benefits including annual membership to care.com, access to backup care services for dependents through Care@Work, retirement planning services, financial coaching, fitness and wellness reimbursement, and great discounts through several vendors for hotels, rental cars, theme parks, shows, sporting events, movie tickets and much more!

About This Position

The Patient Navigator guides patients through a defined health care pathway or time-limited episode of care. The Patient Navigator helps patients understand the required sequence of services, coordinates pathway-specific appointments and information, identifies immediate access barriers, and supports timely completion of established next steps. The role begins when a patient enters an assigned pathway and concludes when the pathway is completed and the patient transitions to the appropriate ongoing service, or established program closure criteria are met.

Principle Duties and Responsibilities

• Receive and review referrals for assigned clinical or program pathways and confirm that patients meet established navigation criteria.
• Orient patients and, when appropriate, families or support persons to the pathway, including its purpose, anticipated steps, responsibilities, and points of contact.
• Guide patients through the required sequence of appointments, tests, procedures, referrals, services, or program milestones using approved pathway workflows.
• Coordinate pathway-specific scheduling, reminders, preparation instructions, records, forms, and handoffs in collaboration with clinical and operational teams.
• Track each patient's status against defined pathway milestones and promptly follow up on missed, delayed, or incomplete steps.
• Identify immediate logistical or access barriers that could prevent pathway completion, such as transportation, language access, scheduling, technology, or required documentation, and connect the patient to the designated resource or team.
• Communicate pathway status, unresolved barriers, and exceptions to the appropriate clinical, operational, social care, or program team in accordance with escalation protocols.
• Support closed-loop referrals by confirming receipt, scheduling, completion, or disposition and documenting the outcome.
• Provide clear, approved information about the pathway and reinforce instructions established by licensed clinicians or program leaders without independently providing health education, clinical interpretation, counseling, or treatment recommendations.
• Facilitate transitions at the end of the pathway to the patient's usual care team, Community Health Worker, social worker, Health Coach, community resource, or other ongoing support when indicated.
• Close navigation services when pathway milestones or established closure criteria are met, documenting completion.
• Document outreach, pathway milestones, barriers, referrals, escalations, handoffs, and closure accurately and timely in the designated electronic health record or program system.
• Participate in pathway huddles, interdisciplinary meetings, training, workflow review, and quality improvement activities.
• Identify recurring process barriers and share trends with program leadership to improve pathway access, timeliness, coordination, and patient experience.
• Maintain confidentiality and comply with HIPAA, organizational policies, pathway protocols, and professional standards.
• Perform assigned work safely and report unsafe activities, conditions, hazards, or safety violations to the supervisor in a timely manner.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Minimum Education and Experience Requirements

Education

• High school diploma or GED required.
• Associate or bachelor's degree in public health, health services, social services, health education, or a related field preferred.

Experience

• Minimum of one year of experience in patient navigation, healthcare access, referral coordination, scheduling, care coordination support, or a related field preferred.
• Experience working with diverse, underserved, or medically complex populations preferred.
• Experience using electronic devices, health records, referral platforms, scheduling systems, or pathway tracking tools preferred

Special Requirement

• Access to a reliable, personal vehicle and valid driver's license.
• Ability to complete required organizational and pathway-specific training.
• Ability to work a flexible schedule, including occasional evenings or weekends, when required by the assigned pathway.

Hourly Pay Range: $26.03 - $39.05This pay rate/range represents ChristianaCare's good faith and reasonable estimate of compensation at the time of posting. The actual salary within this range offered to a successful candidate will depend on individual factors including without limitation skills, relevant experience, and qualifications as they relate to specific job requirements.

Christiana Care Health System is an equal opportunity employer, firmly committed to prohibiting discrimination, whose staff is reflective of its community, and considers qualified applicants for open positions without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity or expression, age, veteran status, disability, pregnancy, citizenship status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.

Post End Date

Nov 3, 2026

EEO Posting Statement

ChristianaCare offers a competitive suite of employee benefits to maximize the wellness of you and your family, including health insurance, paid time off, retirement, an employee assistance program. To learn more about our benefits for eligible positions visit https://careers.christianacare.org/benefits-compensation/